Puppy Love
by drunkdragon
Summary: In which Robin battles feelings of motherhood while Ricken comes to terms with his situation. Blackie remains clueless.
1. The Silence

Part One: The Silence

How Ricken was able to hold onto his secret for so long, no one knew. Robin reasoned that, being a mage and most likely schooled, he was able to take every precaution he knew to hide it.

And he was probably working with a few of the Shepherds to make sure it went smoothly as well.

It certainly did explain a few things, though. Really, it did. He had been acting strangely on the battlefield, and especially around her. He seemed a little more timid than usual, and he developed this nervous habit of clutching his robes that always worsened when she drew near. Ricken had never had these issues before, and to see it come about in the last month was, at first, concerning.

The way he was staring at her, seated across her at the small table of her tent, was one of guilt and silent hope, but most of all anxiousness. It was a stare that could break the hearts of grandmothers worldwide, coupled with his boyish face that made seeing him as something else difficult. Even now she could feel her heartstrings being pulled, heavy chords in her chest plucked away by the fact that she would have to break his heart.

With a sigh, she closed her eyes and did her best to make a firm voice. She shook her head, white locks rocking back and forth over her shoulders.

"No."

"But Robin!" Ricken started, "You… I…" but he found himself at a loss for words.

"We cannot afford to harbor a puppy in the Shepherds."

"I can take care of Blackie!" he stood up and put his arms on the table, doing his best to look bigger, taller, in control. "I've been doing it for the last month and there were no problems!" It only seemed to startle the white ball of puppy fur that was seated in between them, however. "I'm good at it! I walk her at night-"

"And probably distract the night watch."

"-feed her-"

"At the cost of lacking energy in combat, as well sneaking away rations of milk."

"And she's usually very calm, I don't know-"

"Until today, where a-"

_"Will you let me finish, Robin?"_

"Where a good amount of our forces," she raised her voice and talked over him, "were drawn out of position because you went to chase 'Blackie' after it jumped. Out. Of. Your. Robes."

Ricken was silent, his eyes glued to the puppy's cute pink tongue that dangled from its open mouth.

Instead of slamming her hands down, trying to make a point, she instead leaned forward just a tiny bit, folded her hands across in front of her and lowered her voice, speaking slowly, subtly increasing her presence at the table.

He was smart, she knew that, and she did her best to not sound admonishing. "Today's skirmish could have ended very differently," She softly said, the harshness in her tone gone. "We were skilled enough to prevent the situation from spiraling out of hand, but a lot of things could have gone wrong."

"I…" Looking up at Ricken, he had the most defeated look on his face. Even though she had tried to remain passive, to break the truth that he was trying to deny as gently as she possibly could, he still could not prevent the sadness from seeping out. "I know."

The guilt was trailing on the corner of his lips. Robin was sure that in any other moment, she would have been more than willing to hug the growing boy, to let him know that things would be alright and that mistakes were just learning experiences. But this was on a bigger level. These were the lives of their brothers and sisters born in blood and battle. She had to be firm.

"I'm…" He spoke again, "I'm sorry about Lon'qu's arm." The swordsman's harsh words and tone from when he just barely made it in time to shield Ricken from an arrow still rang clearly in her ears. She was sure it was even louder for him.

"He didn't mean it like that." Robin calmly replied. She had talked with her husband earlier about his particular word choice and through some careful prodding and phrasing was able to at least eke out a small response. "He was just worried about you. He was the first to reach your side, after all."

That didn't make the boy seem any happier with the situation, and she decided to change the subject. "Where did you find her?"

"A-About a month ago. We had just gone through that… that village. The one that refused to bow to Walhart."

She recalled _that_ village. It was burned to the ground when they found it. There were no known survivors, only charred bodies of families forcibly locked in their homes. She shuddered at the terror they had to go through as they cradled themselves, praying to the gods that the torment would end quickly.

"I remember that. We arrived a day too late. Aside from a small standing Valmese force, nothing was left."

He solemnly nodded. "It was in the last house that I found Blackie. The home was mostly burnt away, and in the corner… there was a group of huddled bodies. I was about to report back but then I heard a noise and turned back."

"A-And then, Blackie… popped out from the mess." His voice buckled near the end, but he spoke again, trying to be calm. "She was so weak when I saw her. She could barely crawl, and when I picked her up she was smaller than my fist. She just barely started to grow fur. I didn't want to disturb the bodies because I knew Libra was going to collect them for a burial, so I went around the back and tried to pull away at the boarding."

Ricken looked up at her and she could see the water in his eyes, tears unshed because he was trying to force himself to be a man. "There was a whole litter, Robin." He sniveled and drew a shaky breath. "They died trying to protect them, a-and only Blackie made it. I couldn't just leave her there after knowing that. I… That family, they wanted her to live."

Death wasn't new to them, wasn't new to her. She orchestrated it well, after all. But there was something about the death of children and newborns that oftentimes kept her up at night.

Not long after the Shepherds had scouted out a large pack of roaming Risen, they realized that it was on a warpath with a town that was just out of reach for them. While they were march double time and prevent them from razing the entire population, fighting became particularly intense at the central plaza, and across from them, with Risen swarming into it, was a large orphanage. Their screams of terror and confusion as to why they were dying, it taunted them, taunted her as they tried to push through, to do something.

But the silence that filled the air after the fighting ended was the worst. Moans and cries of pain meant that though they were hurt, they were alive. Quiet meant nothing survived. And the quiet continued. Libra and the other healers tended to those that needed immediate care. Everyone was exhausted by the end of it all. There would be no guiding prayers that night.

Robin made it through unscathed and hated the fact. She paced and fumed in her tent. She punched and crushed her pillow until feathers flew from it. It was only when she started to throw her books around that Lon'qu decided to step in, grasping her wrist. She fought at first, but his words were calm, telling her that it was okay, that both of them knew he had gone through the exact same thing and that she was making it worse by blaming herself.

And it was when he brought her into a tight hug, kissing her cheek and telling her that it wasn't her fault, that there were many others that they saved today, that the ugly tears finally came out, all of the self-loathing and pain collapsing in on her. Nothing she did or failed to do would separate his love from her, he whispered to her as her trembling form grasped his.

When morning came, their eyes puffy from crying and bodies just a little sore from the love that they made, Lon'qu said that she should enter the orphanage with Libra. She hated the idea. He said it would make her ideals and goals stronger.

Reluctantly she agreed, and later she wished she had never crossed the threshold as Libra showed her room after room, blood splattered across walls. In some areas the liquid covered the entire floor in a sickening puddle, not to mention the ruined corpses. When she exited the orphanage to let Libra do his work, her husband was waiting for her and she fell into his embrace, sobbing again.

But it did something to her. Seeing the bodies, the blood, hearing the terror and living through the silence, she could feel it when she woke up and when she went to bed. It made her work harder, with more purpose. She wanted to make sure that she had done everything. She had gained a new focus, a new drive for her life and goals to protect the lives of others. That was her silence.

But this…

This was Ricken's silence.

It manifested itself differently, but both had the same goal: to make sure that they did everything they could to foster life. She saw it through blades and tomes, wielding it to protect the weak. He actualized it by raising the life among the death that he found.

More importantly, though, the silence made them grow.

"Quite a journey." Robin found herself having a bit more respect for the dog, though another question came to mind. "You call her Blackie, but her fur is white."

"Well, her… her fur," Ricken chuckled a little, a hand going out to pet the puppy. Blackie seemed more than happy to move towards his hand, rolling onto its back and letting him pet her stomach. "When I first saw her it was so dark, I thought she had black fur. I didn't get a chance to wash it out, so until it grew some more, I didn't know it was white. But she wasn't responding to any other name by then, so… Blackie stuck."

Sticking a hand out to the animal, it turned to sniff at Robin's hand before beginning to tickle it with its tiny tongue.

It felt sickening to just throw away the puppy. It really did. It didn't do anything wrong, and at the end of the day all it wanted to do was to survive in this world. But they had a nation to fight for. Chrom was counting on them to be on their best to end Walhart's reign.

"I… I won't be able to keep her, will I?" A single tear rolled down his cheek and he brushed it away, more threatening to take its place.

His silence, though well placed, was still a bit naïve for their way of life as Shepherds. Noble as it was, it didn't quite belong. He needed to understand that he would be called to greater things and that this was a small step in that direction.

Running her hand along its floppy ears, she shook her head. "We'll try to find someone who can adopt her. We can't just leave her to die, after all. Not unless we don't have any other choice." She sighed deeply. "But we can't keep her."

_"WHAT?"_

A young girl's voice came from just outside the tent and the pair turned to see Nowi rushing in. The young manakete's green hair looked unruly, like she had just run through a parade to get to them. But Robin was not one to simply question the manakete's unreasonable tirades. Despite her young appearance, her dragonstone meant that a dangerous transformation was always nearby.

"Nowi?" Ricken did his best to discretely wipe his eyes. "What are you doing here?"

"When I was flying around in the last fight I overheard that Ricken found a puppy-"

"Nowi, please calm down."

"-was so excited to see it and I was waiting all day outside his tent but then-"

"Nowi!" Robin tried again, this time raising her voice, "We are having a _private_ meeting."

"ANDNOWYOU'REMAKINGMYHUSBANDCRY!"

A different type of silence filled the tent as Nowi looked did her absolute best to look angry, though it seemed more like she was pouting. Robin slowly looked over to the young mage. "_Husband?_" Lon'qu described how Nowi would sometimes drag him out to play as a pretend family, stating he had real experience, but he said she found another person to play with and divorced him.

Ricken tugged at his hat, a sign that he was nervous. "She likes to play family," he quietly said, trying to stop the blush from being seen.

"You're being mean, Robin!" Nowi yelled, getting the tactician's attention again. Running up to the table, she put her hands on it and looked at her straight in the eye. "Don't make me send my ex-husband on you! He's reeeeaaally good with a sword!"

Robin was sure that this would have been more intimidating if Nowi didn't look like a floating head with hands next to it, or if she wasn't married to said ex-husband. "Look, Nowi, we were discussing-"

A loud, prolonged gasp cut her off again and she suddenly felt her insides cringe.

"Is… Is that the puppy?" the manakete slowly said, a rare moment of awe going across her features. Her eyes widened and her mouth hung wide open.

Robin put her hands against her temple. "Yes, that is the puppy. And no, we can't-"

She then made the terrible, terrible choice of looking into her eyes. "Can we keep it? Can we?" It was as if the manakete's countenance had changed entirely. Where her eyes were once angry, that anxiousness and excitement and hope once again filled the air, not unlike what Ricken had just subjected her to.

If this was what having a child was like, she obviously was not ready for it yet. Maybe she could have one moment per day like this, where she had to put her foot down and say no. That would be a decent start. But to have to do it again and again? And when they were _her_ children, not just young friends? She could already feel her heart caving in.

Letting her hand fall to the table, she groaned. "Fine. One month. You can have Blackie for-"

"YAYWECANKEEPIT!" Nowi's hands shot out to try and scoop up the puppy, but the table was too long and she was stuck trying to desperately climb up to get to it.

She didn't know if she should help or let the little moment continue. Gods, if she had a child that was _anything_ like this…

Ricken was able to spare the both of them by picking up Blackie and passing it over. Nowi, overjoyed at the ball of fluff, laughed and spun around, holding the puppy tightly to her chest, which didn't seem to mind at all. The mage turned back and gave her a grateful look.

"Thank you, Robin," his smile was wide.

"You can be our pretend baby! We're going to feed you and wash you and play with you and change your diapers and-"

"Hah," the tactician lightly scoffed, "maybe."

This was only going to make parting harder for them, after all.

* * *

A/N: Surprise! A bait and switch that isn't RobinxLucina. Originally this piece was going to just show Robin and Ricken talking about the puppy and how they have to get rid of it, but as I kept writing it out things just kind of fell into place. It was always going to be a three-part fic about tough decisions, but bits and pieces kept getting thrown in that seemed really good and it all just came together to become this. Originally Nowi wasn't going to be in here at all, but again, made sense and didn't seem to detract from the story. In the end though, this fic was meant to be just painful of sorts, but now it's adorable and painful, so I think that's nice to have.

This fic came from Ricken's barracks quote when he's asking someone why they're happy. After seeing it during a playthrough I couldn't stop thinking about Ricken and his puppy, and so eventually it led up to this. This isn't meant to be a large fic - as mentioned it is a three-part story - and it's sort of like a mini-experiment. Most multi-chapter stories I write are of a decent length, but this looks like it's something that is both enjoyable and manageable.

Also, as most of you can tell by now, I love to ship RickenxNowi. It's just too fun not to do so. Plus it mostly looks right. RobinxLon'qu, however, is new to me. I probably put him in a more talkative and nicer light than expected, but again it fit the story. I also liked it because of the whole 'husband' thing and it incorporated their support conversation in a way. Originally, as mentioned earlier, Nowi wasn't meant to be in here but we're going to be seeing hints of the two together. I suppose this is kind of a revamp of their support. Also it makes writing maternal!Robin outside of the context of Morgan quite fun.

Still, I look forward to writing the other two parts. Cya around!

Also, made some slight edits. I really shouldn't be proofreading so early in the morning...


	2. The Ugly Tears

Part Two: The Ugly Tears

The Shepherds adored Blackie, the white puppy. Robin was sure that more than one of them was sneaking out snacks here and there for her when they weren't supposed to. But it seemed to make the group happy, which meant that morale was high, so she let the issue slide for the time being.

And if the Shepherds adored her, then Ricken and Nowi absolutely loved her. Much to the manakete's words, they had treated it like their own child, or as best as they could at least, not unlike a real couple. The responsibility thrust upon the two was new and challenging at times, but neither of them could stay mad for long. It just wasn't a part of them, she decided. Had Blackie torn up her tomes for the third time, she surmised that she probably would have fed it to Minerva long ago. Then again, it wasn't _her_ Blackie. If she had put in even half the effort as the pair did to raise a cute puppy, Robin was pretty sure she wouldn't be able to give it up, either.

And though it was pure speculation, she was pretty sure that Nowi had probably taken the initiative to at least kiss Ricken. With them playing as a pretend family, she was sure that sooner or later things were going to a bit beyond just pretending.

The pair also began to fight harder in skirmishes. It was the combined efforts of having something to protect, a goal to achieve. They wanted to not only make sure that they came home together for Blackie, but to make sure that the land was a safe place for their 'child' to grow up in. And more than once did the two of them come back with more wounds than usual.

Then as the first month almost came to pass, she noticed that the two of them seemed a little more subdued around Blackie. They smiled a little less. Sometimes they weren't as loud as they used to when they were playing with it, merely stroking it with silent thoughts. No doubt that her last words about the puppy were still ringing in the back of their minds.

The next night Robin figured that it was time to have a discussion with Ricken.

"At the end of this week, about three days, we'll have had Blackie for a month," Robin started, feeling guilty that she was not unlike a devil that promised short term benefits for a far harsher payment in return.

"It feels like it I only found her yesterday," Ricken longingly trailed off. They were once again at her table in her tent. His eyes were fixated on his wringing hands. She watched as his body heaved a sigh. "I can't believe it's already time to… to let her go."

"I heard through the grapevine that you and Nowi were at odds with each other for a bit. Was everything okay?"

"Oh, that," Ricken replied softly, eyes refusing to stray from his hands. "She… she was a bit mad that I wasn't trying harder to keep Blackie. I mean, I want to keep her as much as she does… but a deal's a deal." Turning his gaze back to Robin, he carefully spoke again. "Did… Did you find anyone who wanted to adopt her?"

This time it was Robin's turn to sigh. She shook her head slowly. "No one seems to be able to take her in. I've asked everyone in the last few towns, no bites. There were a few that wanted her, but they either could barely afford to take care of themselves or something about their character rubbed me the wrong way."

"So… no one then…"

"No one."

He turned his head down, his lips shifting a little and she had a feeling he was biting it from beneath his lips, contemplating his next question, one that she was sure he would ask.

"If that's the case… can we keep her a bit longer? At least until the next town?"

There came that look again. May he never truly grasp its full power while he was young and cute like this.

"No," she put her foot down on the subject once more, much to Ricken's dismay. "I'm sorry, but I can't allow that. It would be best to make your time."

"Will you keep trying to find a home for her?"

She bitterly laughed. "Believe me when I say I did everything I can. I'll keep trying, but… a month is a month."

"And… if we don't find anyone?"

"… We'll just have to do our best, won't we?"

* * *

There was no small town or village that Robin knew of within three days marching distance. But she didn't have the heart to tell Ricken.

The next morning before they broke camp, the boy asked Robin that if someone wasn't found at the end of the week, that they try to camp near a river. Not at a river, he stated, but within walking distance.

Her first thought was morbid. Was he going to drown her? Would Ricken truly do that? Death was hardly something she wanted to leave Blackie to. She wasn't a number one fan of the dog, but she wasn't about to wish it dead either. For about a day, panic ran through her mind as she tried to figure out why he was going to end things this way.

But as she saw him running around camp with a determined gaze upon him, her fears settled. He had come to accept things, it seemed. He accepted that Blackie could not stay, and so he was now planning something, something that she would find out at the end of the month.

"Go to sleep."

Lon'qu also hated the fact that it kept her up even later than usual. He awoke more than once only to see that she was gazing at the roof of their shared tent.

"Children are terrifying," she simply said. "I don't see how I could have one without feeling absolutely powerless."

"You've been saying that all month." His voice was gravelly from sleep, unlike the smooth and deep voice she was used to during the day. "You have a long day ahead. Go to sleep."

She took a deep breath and sighed. He had been willing to listen to her the first time, but it would appear as if repeated instances of the conversation had worn his patience thin. Especially since after the first time, their conversation rarely got too far before one of them fell asleep. In fact, for all her grumbling, the furthest they had ever gotten was how if she ever had a son, it better not be like Ricken. She had the most terrible feeling that she would spoil him silly, and he countered that he would be firm enough on him help straighten him out. Sword drills, he advised her, would do that quite easily.

Anything else might as well have been lost to a haze of sleep talking. He distinctly remembered her saying how he was like a capowzerschnit while she said he mumbled something that sounded similar to 'stupid fluffy beetles. She later tried to look up the term capowzerschnit and found that there was no such thing while Lon'qu agreed that beetles were indeed not fluffy.

"Do you want children?"

Robin was taken aback for a moment. This was a new direction for their conversation, and she paused for a brief moment before speaking again. "I suppose I'm giving it a lot of thought recently."

It was his turn to sigh. "It's a yes or no question, Robin."

"If I say no?"

"Then I'll tell you to go to sleep, because you have a long day ahead."

"… And if I say yes?"

"… I will get up and drink a bit of ale to celebrate that you have come to your senses. Then I will return and drag you down so that I may perform husbandly duties."

She gave him a playful thwack on the shoulder. "You can be sexier than that, Lon'qu. I know you're quite capable of it."

"Would you prefer I start biting your ears and be done with it all?"

Goodness.

"My, aren't we talkative?"

He gave a playful scoff, and she could imagine the smirk he had on, the kind of smile that meant that he won any little game they were playing and knew it. "Go to sleep, Robin."

Lon'qu's arm pulled the sheets up to her neck before drifting lazily over her stomach, his nose just touching her shoulder. Closing her eyes, Robin had to give him credit in that he certainly knew how to tuck her in for the night.

* * *

The next morning, Robin, Ricken, and Nowi were on their way to the river. She would have liked Lon'qu to join, but he had mysteriously disappeared after breakfast. Perhaps he did not want to be caught up in the moment, and she couldn't blame him. She would rather be fighting Risen than be here.

They were silent as they walked. Nowi cradled the white puppy, also holding onto a small blue blanket and a sealed envelope. Ricken carried what looked like a bottom end of a barrel. A bit of tar was used on the outside to help waterproof it. Inside were some scraps of dried meat. They were going to float the puppy down the river, hoping someone would see it and pick her up.

Blackie seemed to give no thought to the situation, thinking that this was just another fun excursion with her caretakers.

Robin had to admit that this was the best option they could take in the situation. Blackie would no longer be a part of the Shepherds, meaning there would be no more loss of supplies. Morale would be just a bit lower for a moment. Ricken and Nowi would probably be down in the dumps, but after some time they would recover. Meanwhile the puppy would have perhaps a better opportunity at finding adoption.

The river bank came into view. Nowi sobbed a little and Ricken gave a shaky sigh. Robin felt her back stiffen as the two continued to slowly walk towards the waters. It was a slow-moving river, more like a wide stream with waist-high water. There were rocks and it didn't look like it was the smoothest of waters, but it seemed easy enough that Blackie's makeshift boat wouldn't capsize.

They paused a moment once they were on the side of it. With one last hug from both of them, they put the puppy into the barrel.

"I love you, Blackie," Ricken mustered. His voice pitched a moment, but he bit it down while the manakete next to him finally started to sob. For a moment Robin had to look away, biting her lips as she did so. When she turned back, Ricken was moving towards the water and he gently sat the makeshift basket down. Slowly, the puppy began to ebb and flow away.

Nowi ran up to the stream next to him, eying their little pretend-baby go down the stream as she continued to brush away tears. Ricken's hand moved to grab one of hers, and he held it tightly.

Blackie moved to look up over the side of the barrel, its eyes never leaving the two of them.

"I'm… I'm sorry, but it has to be this way," Ricken faltered. He blinked back whatever water was glistening in his eyes.

Try not to listen, she told herself. She's killed men and women before, she's gotten innocents killed before. She was tougher than this. Be sympathetic, but be strong.

The puppy let out the most pathetic bark ever.

"We can't keep you!" He yelled back. "I'm sorry but I just can't! I don't want to let you go but I have to!"

It looked over the edge again, climbing just a little higher and giving off that sad, sad yelp again and again. It didn't understand what was going on. It didn't understand why Robin had to order them to give it up.

Nowi just sobbed even louder. Ricken's frown angled downwards sharply with each bark. Their hands held tightly onto the other. Robin felt a pang in her chest as she was forced to drink in the pair's heartbreak. Before long she found herself standing next to the two of them, arms just barely outstretched, looking to hold and embrace them. To whisper that she was sorry she had to put them through this, but was thankful for what they had done.

The barking stopped. The silence drew Robin's attention to the basket, which had flowed a good ways down the stream, and she felt herself become still.

Blackie had climbed to the edge of the basket, looking into the flowing tides. The wooden vessel was threatening to turn over, and the blanket must have fallen into the water long ago. Before she could process what was going on, the puppy leaped into the water, doing its best to try and swim towards them.

Ricken couldn't take it anymore, and his own body began to shake as let loose a soft, pained whimper. He tried to control his breathing, tried to keep whatever tears were there to a minimum. Nowi wrapped her arms around him as she let loose her waterworks into his shoulder. All the while Blackie just tried to swim and keep her head above the water.

Robin decided that she hated seeing the two of them cry. Even though the two weren't really children anymore, seeing their huddled, shaking forms was a sight she could do without. It evoked a horrid sense of motherhood that she found as alien as it was intriguing. She had no memories of a mother and only understood that she hated her father. The closest thing she had to a parent was technically Chrom and Lissa, if she were to go with Miriel's theory that a duckling's mother was the first thing it saw.

And it made her absolutely irrational. Irrational was a risk on the battlefield.

The words were already tumbling out of her mouth as she tried to convince herself not to say it.

"Look, you two, just-"

A hand spread across her face and she closed her eyes. She found that she had three excuses for it. One was that she couldn't believe she was doing this, fighting between giving in and maintaining her own orders. The other was that she didn't want to see Ricken and Nowi's tear and flushing cheeks.

"I know I… I said that-"

The last one was that she didn't want to have them look at her with _those_ eyes. One pair was enough a month ago, but now two? Absolutely disarming. Absolutely unfair.

Robin found that she hated seeing the two of them cry because all it made her want to do was comfort them.

Finally, she had enough and just said it.

"Just get Blackie."

Nowi was the first to act. She let go of Ricken's hand like it was on fire and dashed into the water.

"Momma's coming to get you!" She flailed and splashed a little, head dunking under the water for a moment until she was able get back onto her feet, wading as fast as she could to the struggling puppy.

Thankfully, Ricken had more tact as he ran along the edge of the riverbank until he was past Blackie. From there he waded into the water and reached out the grab the wet and shivering puppy before moving back onto dry land.

With a defeated but relieved sigh, Robin walked up to the pair wet pair. Blackie seemed to acknowledge her presence and gave a happy yap in her direction. She knelt down and scratched behind her ears.

"Yeah… good to see you too, I suppose."

Why did all of the cute things of this world have to conspire against her?

"Thank you, again," Ricken said. The tears were still kind of there, but at least that damnable frown had wiped itself from both of them. "I know you said we couldn't but… I…"

Lon'qu was right. It was going to be a long day for her, and at the end of it all she was going to have to redraft the food supplies again.

"Hah… Maybe."

* * *

A/N: Well, it took a bit longer than I expected. I wrote about half, got distracted by other things, and then suddenly realized how to finish up the rest of the chapter and so it was done in about two days afterwards. Still, I was able to figure it out in terms of what I want to do and here it is.

There's really not much else to add for now, besides that there is no such thing as a capowzerschnit. I had to make the word up. It was also originally going to be fluffy caterpillars, but those things are freaky, so I used beetles instead.

Cya for now though! I'm not sure when the next chapter of this will be. I have another mini-project of sorts I want to work on, and then I'll be working on I think _Three is Company_ once more.

I do not own Fire Emblem, and I appreciate all comments and criticism.

Catch you all soon.


	3. The Growth

Part Three: The Growth

_Earlier the previous day, they had spotted a patch of Risen shambling in the north. As per standard procedure, they approached it, set up camp, deployed a perimeter around the site, and engaged. It was not a difficult skirmish._

_But as they fought, another group of Risen came the south, trampling through a part of their camp. An ambush. While there were no casualties and the supplies remained intact, the Shepherds were forced to double back and re-secure the location._

_And while they were successful, a boy and a manakete sobbed through the night, shattering the peaceful bubble the two of them had come to live in._

* * *

Robin had dug graves before. Sometimes it was for enemy soldiers. But more often than not it was for villagers caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. While she would be ruthless in battle, she had her own human limits as well. The shovel would feel heavier in her hands than any sword would, the digging more tiresome than any other training she could recall.

Robin had dug graves before. Sometimes it was for enemy soldiers. But more often than not it was for villagers caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. While she would be ruthless in battle, she had her own human limits as well. The shovel would feel heavier in her hands than any sword would, the digging more tiresome than any other training she could recall.

It wasn't a dignified funeral for most. Many villagers were often poor – a full coffin was out of the picture, and they were buried by family members in a thick cloth wrapped around the bodies. A local priest would sometimes be there to offer the ceremonial rights, but more often than not it was Libra.

She didn't ask Ricken how it looked after it happened. It didn't change the outcome. All that mattered was that Blackie, for all her cute puppy looks, now lay broken.

More than once did Robin find herself sighing and moping over the loss of the puppy. Was she more attached than she realized? The young puppy seemed to like her a lot, despite how she was the one trying to get rid of it at first.

Or perhaps it was seeing the distraught faces of Ricken and Nowi? How Ricken would try and be solemn while it gnawed away inside of him? How Nowi seemed to have plugged up? Though Ricken had lived through the loss of the late Exalt, this was a more personal one. The Exalt was someone he respected. Blackie was a pet that the both of them invested time and love to raise.

Thankfully, Robin had never lost someone close to her, but she could not help but imagine what it might have felt like. Still, when Ricken asked if he could bury the puppy, it had caught her off guard – she had been so focused on the emotions that she nearly forgot the physical process.

"Wouldn't it be easier to cremate her?"

Ricken vigorously shook his head, "I don't think she'd like to end her time here in fire. Not after what she had been through."

She never brought up that question again. Normally her astute logic and deductive skills would have let her realize that it was tactless idea, but the sudden loss was affecting her heavily. Still, they selected a time in the next morning where the three of them would go to bury the pet.

* * *

Blackie's body was wrapped in a thin cloth. Then she was placed inside a small box that originally held some hard tack. Nowi had put in her favorite toys and now Ricken held the package as they made a short trek away from the campsite. He even made a small place marker.

As per camp rules, they went out as a group of three. Robin held the heavy shovel for now in addition to her tome. They came to a stop at the crest of a small hill, under the shade of a young maple tree. Nowi had been crying all the way there, but Ricken had somehow kept it all in so far.

"Will this be the place?" Robin said, finally breaking the silence.

The young boy looked around, taking in the tranquil meadow. "Yeah, I think she'd like it here."

Setting the box down, she handed him the shovel, seeing how he struggled with its initial weight before getting a good handle on it. Then after locating a spot, he began to dig.

At the first sound of breaking dirt, Nowi broke out into a fresh set of sobs. Almost instinctively, Robin moved over and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. The manakete, however, seemed to take this as an open invitation to turn and hug Robin around her waist. She let out a sigh as the heat of her breath and tears began to soak into her clothing.

The young girl began to speak through her sobs, but Robin kept her eyes on Ricken

"I know I was mean to you before," she sniveled a little. "But Blackie's gone now. I was gonna ask Anna how to save up for Blackie's magic lessons, but now she'll never be a dancer. And I'm mad and sad and I… I…"

Robin knelt down and Nowi adjusted her embrace to be over her shoulders. "Shhhh… it's okay." She gently began to pat at her back, something she had seen mothers do to soothe their own children.

Nowi cries in Robin's arms. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay. A lot of things have changed between now and then."

"… C-Can I pretend you're my mommy?"

Robin scoffed a little, but a small smile still came across her lips. "You're a bit old for that, don't you think? Besides, Ricken can probably help you more than I can. I have too much paperwork."

"Please? I don't remember mine."

"I don't remember mine either."

Now pulled away and looked at Robin. "Please?"

Puppy eyes. Not as bad as Ricken's, but puppy eyes nonetheless.

"… Maybe just on Thursdays for now. I don't know if I can be a good mommy every day of the week."

The answer seemed to placate Nowi, for while she still sobbed and tightly held onto Robin, she made no more comments. Turning back to Ricken, she saw that he was still digging. However, his cheeks glistened as he lifted the shovel again and again. With each push down, there could have been a sob hidden behind the grunt of exertion. For a moment, he paused to wipe away at his eyes, but he silently picked up the shovel again and continued to dig.

Robin made no move herself, but she knew that Nowi was also watching him. Leaning to her ear, she whispered, "I have a feeling that Ricken will need you very soon, very similar to how you needed me here."

"But… I can't be his mommy. I… we… I mean-"

She rolled her eyes before giving the dragon girl a light pat on the head. "What I mean is that after he's done, you should go and hug him."

She nodded and watched while Ricken continued to dig. Then once he felt that it was deep enough, he put it down and reached for the small box, giving a sob while he placed the makeshift coffin into the pit. He then quickly began to fill the grave up with the dirt and soon Nowi left Robin's side.

As he stood up after putting the marker in place, the manakete came around and wrapped her arms about him. With the deed finally done, he returned the embrace and she watched as he finally broke down and cried.

The three of them did not return until midday.

* * *

To say that the mourning ended at the burial would be incorrect. The two of them were still duller than before. In the end, though, she could see the recovery. Nowi started to be more involved with other Shepherds again, though she had yet to personally see the girl herself.

With Ricken, though, she could see more. Having become more knowledgeable about the world, he no longer seemed to have his head in the clouds at times. He was more focused than before.

He had grown. With the coming and going of Blackie, he had become a little wiser and he even seemed a little taller than before. It had been a small and gradual change ever since Blackie died, and for all she could say, she was happy for him.

Her chest swelled with pride, however, when Ricken thought no one was looking and had given Nowi a full on kiss on the lips, his hand gently tilting her chin. The manakete seemed to clam up about whatever she was talking about as a strong blush ripped across her cheeks. It looked like she was wrong about them kissing each other before, and Robin was perfectly happy about it.

Still, the tactician did not see either of them really laugh until maybe a month after the burial. It had started in the mess tent, where Vaike and Stahl somehow got into a bet about beating the other with their own choice of weaponry. The dispute was to be settled the next morning, and Robin had gone with Lon'qu to get a good seat for the small contest.

Much to her surprise, Ricken and Nowi had beaten them to the ring that Thursday morning. The boy cracked a small joke, "Look, your ex is with Robin."

Nowi's snickered before shooting her a sly smile and sticking her tongue out at her, "It's okay. Mommy can have him if she wants to."

Robin played along with the joke, pretending to bristle at the comment. "Hey! No one gets away with talking down to my man."

Lon'qu looked at her, horrified. "Mommy?"

"Lon'qu, she just insulted the both of us!"

"_Mommy?_"

"You and I need to go and show this ex of yours what we're made of!"

"How long have… have you been…"

"Uh… Lon'qu?"

"_P-P-P-Pregnant?_"

It was utterly horrifying. The embarrassment flooded her cheeks and Robin found herself dumbfounded. "Lon'qu, you- we haven't- there hasn't even- you _know_ we don't have time right now!"

The swordsman realized his mistake, as he turned red and quickly excused himself, leaving the poor and flustered tactician to mad laughter from the two. Giving off a groan of frustration, she conceded to herself that she would rather have the two laughing than depressed, even if it was at her own expense. Sullenly walking over, she took a spot next to Ricken.

The boy looked up at her with a bright expression, something she hadn't seen in a while. "I didn't get to do so earlier, but thank you, Robin. You've done a lot for me. And for Nowi as well."

That may have helped her save face a little, but that dent would still there for a bit.

"Hah…" she barely laughed. "Maybe."

* * *

A/N: And with this, we close out the last and final chapter of this mini-series. For all you Blackie fans, I'm sorry but I had planned from really day one that the puppy was gonna die. And I'm sad but not as sad since I masterminded it from the beginning. Alas, for all you that feel as if you were dealt a sorrow blow, I recommend googling cute puppies.

In all seriousness, though, this was a fun trip that took longer than I intended. As a side project, I kept pushing this aside in favor of my other fics, but the time to finish this off just seemed right. Still, it took me ten months to write about eighteen pages of story. I feel somewhat bothered by that.

Also, I wonder at the introspective aspect of this chapter. The other two were a bit more inward-driven for Robin, but in here it's a little less, at least at first glance. I think it's because now, after two chapters of facing the prospect of becoming a mother, she is starting to accept that it wouldn't be unwelcome and sort of acts with that mentality. So it's a transition from thinking to doing, and I think that part came across nicely.

Still... something seems to be... _missing_.

* * *

Lon'qu was unusually loud and late when he returned to their tent that night. He seemed to avoid her out of embarrassment, claiming that he was preparing for upcoming march. And while Robin was annoyed at his utterance, she also was worried for him. She had already climbed into the bedroll but found no sleep so far.

"You're late. Did something happen?"

"Somewhat. I…" he sighed, a sharp shade dancing across his cheek from the lone candle. "There has been a lot on my mind as of late." Setting his sword aside, he turned towards her, his eyes unusually piercing. "So you have decided that you will be a mother?"

Ah, so it _was_ about what happened this morning.

"I wouldn't say that I explicitly agreed to the prospect, but… I don't think I would say no."

There was a shuffling of clothes and Robin closed her eyes, relieved that her husband had returned. Soon enough he joined her beneath the covers and gently brought his head to rest against her shoulder. "… I think you'll be a fine parent."

All would have been fine and well, but something was off. There was just a faint bit of alcohol on his breath.

"…Hey, have you been drinking?"

"Just a sip."

"But you rarely drink." She sat up, and Lon'qu's head flopped miserably onto her pillow." I had to threaten to sit in your lap to get you to even have half a goblet of wine at Chrom's wedding. What made you-"

"Hush now, my fuzzy beetle." He threw his arm around her shoulders and let some of the weight of it rest against her. It was his way of wanting to impose at least a portion of his will, but he never let it go further than that.

"Fuzzy beetle? Lon'qu, you-"

Very quickly he pushed himself up and brought his lips to her ear. She could feel the heat radiating from his entire body and she remembered their conversation from a few months ago.

"I would like to propose a solution to your child troubles."

His voice was low and husky and Robin found herself shivering a little in anticipation. "And that is?"

"We attempt to conceive."

Moment. Over.

With a light scoff, she gently pushed him off of her shoulder. "Lon'qu, you aren't even _trying_ to make this romantic."

"I can be romantic if I wanted."

"You can at least say we're going to-"

"It is just an attempt. And if a child results, then a child results."

"So… like an accident?"

"A _planned_ accident."

"… And if we don't have a child?"

"Then we will merely have made a single attempt."

As much as his logic was correct, it was plain and simple. As plain and simple as it was, it still brought a smile to her lips. "Go to sleep, Lon'qu."

A similar smile spread across his face. "Alas, my Lord Khan, I tried."

They attempted the next night.

* * *

A/N: And there you have it. Some closure for you fRobin x Lon'qu fans. No lemon today, but you never know~

I do not own Fire Emblem and I appreciate all comments and criticism.

See you all soon!


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